Larry Nassar sentenced to 60 years in prison for child porn

Disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in prison Thursday in a federal child pornography case.

The former Michigan State University doctor — who’s been accused of sexually assaulting more than 130 victims — in July pleaded guilty to three federal charges of obtaining and possessing child pornography and destroying computer files to hamper an investigation.

In court filings last week, Nassar’s attorney requested leniency for his client, claiming the doctor is working toward change. Still, federal prosecutors sought the maximum sentence after law enforcement discovered more than 37,000 images of child porn on hard drives at his home.

Authorities uncovered the images and clips amid a sexual assault investigation in August 2016, sparked by allegations from former gymnast Rachael Denholder.

“You have to wonder whether he felt he was omnipotent, whether he felt he was getting away with something,” U.S. District Judge Janet Neff told the Lansing State Journal. “He has demonstrated that he should never again have access to children.”

McKayla Maroney performs on the balance beam.

(Yves Logghe/AP)

The sentence marks the first of three being imposed on Nassar for charges of child porn and sexual assault.

In November, the former gymnastics doctor separately admitted in Michigan’s Eaton County Court to sexually assaulting seven women, typically under the guise of a treatment at his Holt home and his Michigan State campus clinic. A week later, he pleaded guilty in Ingham County Circuit Court to digitally penetrating another three victims, one of whom was under the age of 13.

Some of his alleged victims are slated to speak at his sentencing for the assault charges on Jan. 12. He faces life in prison.

Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney are among the women who have come forward with accusations against 54-year-old Nassar.

Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman (r.), Gabby Douglas (l.) and McKayla Maroney are among the women who have come forward with accusations against 54-year-old Nassar.

(Walter McBride/Getty Images)

“He abused my trust, abused my body and left scars on my psyche that may never heal,” Maroney wrote in an impact-statement to the court. “Larry Nassar deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison.”

The criminal cases against Nassar come after the Indianapolis Star reported on how the USA Gymnastics mishandled complaints about sexual misconduct involving the doctor as well as the coaches.

Maroney and her mother wrote victim impact statements ahead of Thursday’s sentencing, railing against the USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee for rules barring parents from training camps and hotels while teams travel.

USA Gymnastics cut ties with Nassar in 2015 and the doctor was fired from Michigan State University in September 2016.